PSG forward Ousmane Dembele is set to undergo treatment for a right calf muscle issue, raising concerns about his fitness for his side’s upcoming Champions League final against Arsenal later this month.
The club confirmed on Monday that the France international is receiving care for discomfort following his withdrawal after just 27 minutes during PSG’s 2-1 defeat by Paris FC on Sunday, the final day of the French league season.
While coach Luis Enrique initially attributed the substitution to fatigue, the club later stated that the player was “taken off as a precaution.”
Defending champions PSG are set to face Arsenal in the Champions League final on 30 May at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.
Dembele has been a pivotal figure in their European campaign, notably scoring an early goal in the semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich, which secured a 1-1 draw and a 6-5 aggregate victory.
Luis Enrique will hope to have Dembele fit for the Champions League final (Reuters)
Despite an injury-hampered first half of the season, he still contributed 10 goals and seven assists in 22 league appearances, having won the Ballon d’Or and scored 21 goals last season.
France are also likely to be monitoring Dembele’s fitness over the coming days ahead of next month’s World Cup.
The 29-year-old was named in Didier Deschamps’ squad last week and is expected to play a key role at the tournament for France alongside the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise and PSG teammate Desire Doue.
France are considered one of the favourites for the tournament after thriving in recent World Cups.
They won the World Cup for the second time in their history back in 2018, beating Croatia 4-2 in the final.
Deschamps’ side almost pulled off a repeat triumph four years ago, as they reached the final against Argentina.
The game went all the way to penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw that saw Mbappe score a hat-trick, while Lionel Messi netted twice for Argentina.
In the end, it was heartbreak for France as Argentina won 4-2 on penalties to win the World Cup for the third time after previous victories in 1978 and 1986.
France will begin their World Cup campaign against Senegal on 16 June.
